Further Comment on 'Using Inhalers While Fasting' I have read the discussion on the 'use of inhalers during fasting' between you and Dr.Nasir with interest and found myself compelled to participate as I had some views to share. In general all human systems are so intricately connected with each other that it is very difficult to claim that anything (medicine or food) remains restricted to just one of them and is hence allowed or disallowed during fasting. Most if not all things, crossover from one system to the other to take effect and then to a third to get excreted. Take for example the skin ointments, a nitroglycerine patch or earache drops. As per common belief they are believed to be perfectly safe during fasting. But they cannot exercise their desired effects unless they are absorbed into the blood stream to be carried to target cells in blood or brain. While, on the other hand, a tablet to be taken by mouth for the same effects is considered 'not permissible' in Ramadan. It is therefore obvious that there are more factors than just one that govern the final dictation of something as 'permissible' or 'not permissible' during fasting and they all must be taken into account when making such a comment. I'll list them as: Mode of drug use .... if a certain drug is used in a way that it does not enter the mouth, throat or more distant parts of digestive system as its primary portals of entry, it should fall in the category of 'permissible'. Spill or crossover .... if a small percentage of a drug is involuntarily carried into the digestive system where it is not supposed to produce significant effects, it should remain permissible during fasting. Type of response produced .... if a drug produces a response which defies the basic philosophy of fasting e.g. giving energy or producing delirium, it should fall in the category of 'not permissible' no matter which way it gets into the human body. As I have said earlier, all these should be considered in each case and then a decision be made. In view of all this I believe that even if a small amount of inhaled medicine might find its way into stomach (it is proven that most of it goes to the lungs) it should remain legally permissible because its primary effect is only in the lungs, and that it is carried into the stomach involuntarily and that the small amount reaching the stomach does not produce any significant effects on ones fasting status. So is the case with an injection (intramuscular or intravenous) of painkillers. On the other hand if one opted for an injection of concentrated nutrients (glucose, proteins etc.) during fasting, it would break his fast because, in spite of the fact that it did not involve mouth as its portal of entry and it is quite similar to an injection of pain killers, it does produce the effects which defy the philosophy of fasting. Regards Dr. Rizwan